catholic Archives

IJCY6-Is Jesus Calling You with Fr. Paul Hoesing episode 6

Is Jesus Calling? A Spiritual Guide to Discerning Your Vocational Call with Fr. Paul Hoesing – episode 6: The Eighth Spiritual Lesson: The will of the spirit against Christ is revealed in fear. “This spirit against Christ drives a man by a fear of something false. While the Spirit of Christ draws a man by a peaceful presence to something that is true.”

Questions: Does your fear come when you are desiring to do God’s will and the thought of you choosing not to do His will causes your fear? Or, rather, does your fear come when you are focused on what you want and the thought that God might want something different makes you afraid; if so, identify that as the will of the spirit against Christ and turn away from it, inviting Christ into the situation by repeating a simple prayer like, “Jesus I trust in you!”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 32:30 — 29.8MB) | Embed

The Ninth Spiritual Lesson: You must stand firm in faith in what you received from God. “This is the essential choice. If one does not make this choice, his spiritual life will be the experience of a ping pong ball, bouncing back and forth, believing one desire one day and the opposite one the next. He will be a confused man.”

Questions: Do you have moments in prayer where the next step you are to take becomes quite clear from the experience of the peace of Christ, but then you believe and follow the thoughts, feelings, and desires in the fear flowing from the spirit against Christ, causing you to change your mind and not move forward? Identify those movements and cling to Christ during them by praying, “Jesus, I I trust in you.”

Based on “Is Jesus Calling You To Be A Catholic Priest: A helpful guide”, published by National Conference of Diocesan Vocation Director.

Fr. Paul Hoesing serves as the Vocation Director for the Archdiocese of Omaha, NE.
Check out “For Your Vocation.org“

IP#237 Fr. Joseph Fessio S.J. – The Transforming Power of Faith on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

What a delight to speak once again to Fr. Joseph Fessio, this time about “The Transforming Power of Faith” by Pope Benedict XVI. Ignatius Press has once again brought to us a wonderful compilation of the final sixteen talks given at his weekly audience from October 2012 to the end of his papacy in February 2013. These talks explore how and why faith is relevant in the contemporary world.

In this discussion, Fr. Fessio offers his insights on the pontificate of Pope Francis, a brother in the Jesuit order. He also addresses an issue concerning the work of Fr. Hans Urs von Balthasar as found in his book “Dare We Hope That All May Be Saved”, which has, in some cases recently, been mistakenly understood and represented to others. He breaks open a bit Fr. von Balthasar’s teachings on hell, the mercy of God, and the proper understanding of “hope”. Another engaging conversation with the ever fascinating Fr. Fessio.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (24.9MB) | Embed

You can find the book here

From the book description:

“Having faith in the Lord is not something that involves solely our intelligence, the area of intellectual knowledge; rather, it is a change that involves our life, our whole self: feelings, heart, intelligence, will, corporeity, emotions, and human relationships. With faith everything truly changes.”

So Pope Benedict XVI introduced his catecheses for the Year of Faith, a series of sixteen talks given at his weekly audience from October 2012 to the end of his papacy in February 2013. These talks explore how and why faith is relevant in the contemporary world. How can we come to certainty about things that cannot be calculated or scientifically confirmed? What does God’s revelation mean for our daily lives? How can the hunger of the human heart be fulfilled? Offering the guidance of biblical exegesis, pastoral exhortation, and brotherly encouragement, Pope Benedict seeks to answer these questions and many others.

IP#234 Mike Aquilina – Good Pope, Bad Pope on Inside the Pages with Kris McGregor

“Good Pope, Bad Pope: Their Lives, Our Lesson” is another terrific book by the prolific Mike Aquilina. This is a much needed resource for all Catholics. Those of us who love and appreciate the gift of the Papacy in the life of the Church, if we are honest with ourselves, cringe a bit inside when the facts of history uncover those Popes who were…well…bad. Leave it to Mike Aquilina to guide us through those notorious lives and times, while helping us to see the lesson we can learn from those particular experiences. Mike also lifts up those outstanding men who were more than just “good” Popes (which the overwhelming majority were), but reminds of popes like Bl. John Paul II, who could be called “great”. Be not afraid of history, especially when its in the hands of Mike Aquilina.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 24:13 — 11.1MB) | Embed

You can find the book here

From the description:

Every pope is by definition a remarkable man. But the popes whose stories you’ll read here were chosen because they reveal how the papacy developed. They show us how Christ kept his promise to his bride, the Church, not only in her health but also in her sickness. The great popes advanced our understanding of Christian doctrine. But even more remarkable, the worst popes could do nothing to damage the teaching of the Church.

That’s why, even in its darkest moments, the story of the papacy is a story of triumph. And that’s why it’s worth knowing these twelve popes.

IP#232 Alissa Jung – Mary of Nazareth on an Inside the Pages Special

What an absolute to delight to speak with actress Alissa Jung about her performance in the breathtaking film “Mary of Nazareth”. The German actress is luminous in her portrayal of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Alissa shares the challenges and the joys she encountered in taking on this challenging role. She also shares with us the work of her very special non-profit organization “Pens, Paper, Peace” which funds much needed schools for the children of Haiti.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (11.2MB) | Embed

“Stunning in its beauty, breathtaking in its scope! Mary of Nazareth is simply a joy for the heart. This is the film we have been waiting for. This is the Blessed Mother we have come to know in our hearts and the depiction that we want not only our families and friends to see, but all the world as well. A joy-filled expression of faith, hope and love. The Mary of this film is no ‘pouty teenager’ or ‘hapless victim’ as she is too often portrayed in film today. No, this is our Mary, who says with trust a glorious ‘Fiat’ to the will of the Father. This work, with its gorgeous cinematic qualities and touching performances, is worthy to honor the one who would say, “I am the Handmaid of the Lord”. Kris McGregor

Mary-Film To learn showtimes in your town or how you can bring the movie to your area visit www.maryfilm.com

The most stunning portrayal of the Virgin Mary on film. It will make you want to love her more than ever. An absolute masterpiece! Yes, my friends, I can assure you that we finally have a movie that gets Mary totally right! Trust me, I am super hard to please when it comes to any portrayal of Mary in film, but this one nailed it entirely! Fr. Donald Calloway, MIC

A Prayer to St. Dominic – Mp3 Audio Download and Text – Discerning Hearts

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 0:57 — 1.3MB) | Embed

O Holy Priest of God
and glorious Patriarch, St. Dominic,
thou who wast the friend,
the well-beloved son
and confidant of the Queen of Heaven,
and didst work so many miracles
by the power of the Holy Rosary,
have regard for my intercessions.
On earth you opened your heart
to the miseries of your fellow man,
and your hands were strong to help them;
now in heaven your charity has not grown less
nor has your power waned.
Pray for me to the Mother of the Rosary
and to her Divine Son,
for I have great confidence
that through your assistance
I shall obtain the favor I so much desire:

(mention your intentions).

Amen.

IP#224 Dr. Robert George – Conscience and Its Enemies on Inside the Pages

“Conscience and Its Enemies: Confronting the Dogmas of Liberal Secularism” is one of the best articulations of today’s battle over religious liberty and traditional morality. Dr. Robert George’s clarity and insight are indispensable for understanding where we have been, where we are going, and what paths we could be traveling down if we fail to act on the leading morality challenges facing as individuals and citizens. Pass by this book and its message at your own risk.

As the book description states: “In defending what James Madison called the “sacred rights of conscience”—rights for which government shows frightening contempt—George grapples with today’s most controversial issues: abortion and infanticide, same-sex marriage, genetic manipulation, euthanasia and assisted suicide, religion in politics, judicial activism, and more. His brilliantly argued essays rely not on theological claims or religious authority but on established scientific facts and a philosophical tradition that extends back to Plato and Aristotle.”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:24 — 25.1MB) | Embed

You can find it here

“One of the nation’s most respected legal theorists . . . Even people who profoundly disagree with some of his conclusions [respect] his sheer brilliance, the analytic power of his arguments, the range of his knowledge . . . [and] a deeply principled conviction, a profound and enduring integrity.” —Elena Kagan, Supreme Court justice

“One of the most incisive legal and moral thinkers working today.” —First Things

“One of contemporary conservatism’s intellectual pinups.” —George F. Will

“Professor George has helped strengthen our nation’s system of ordered liberty by exploring enduring questions of American constitutional law and Western political theory.” —President George W. Bush, in awarding the Presidential Citizens Medal

St. Justin Martyr – A Father of the Church: “pioneer of positive engagement with philosophical thinking – albeit with cautious discernment…. ” with Mike Aquilina – Discerning Hearts

Join us a we discuss the life St. Justin Martyr with the wonderful Mike Aquilina

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 17:10 — 31.4MB) | Embed

You can also read the following from Vatican.va

BENEDICT XVI

GENERAL AUDIENCE

St Peter’s Square
Wednesday, 21 March 2007

St Justin, Philosopher and Martyr (c. 100-165)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In these Catecheses, we are reflecting on the great figures of the early Church. Today, we will talk about St Justin, Philosopher and Martyr, the most important of the second-century apologist Fathers.

The word “apologist” designates those ancient Christian writers who set out to defend the new religion from the weighty accusations of both pagans and Jews, and to spread the Christian doctrine in terms suited to the culture of their time.

Thus, the apologists had a twofold concern: that most properly called “apologetic”, to defend the newborn Christianity (apologhía in Greek means, precisely, “defence”), and the pro-positive, “missionary” concern, to explain the content of the faith in a language and on a wavelength comprehensible to their contemporaries.

Justin was born in about the year 100 near ancient Shechem, Samaria, in the Holy Land; he spent a long time seeking the truth, movi
Finally, as he himself recounts in the first chapters of his Dialogue with Tryphon, a mysterious figure, an old man he met on the seashore, initially leads him into a crisis by showing him that it is impossible for the human being to satisfy his aspiration to the divine solely with his own forces. He then pointed out to him the ancient prophets as the people to turn to in order to find the way to God and “true philosophy”.ng through the various schools of the Greek philosophical tradition.

In taking his leave, the old man urged him to pray that the gates of light would be opened to him.
The story foretells the crucial episode in Justin’s life: at the end of a long philosophical journey, a quest for the truth, he arrived at the Christian faith. He founded a school in Rome where, free of charge, he initiated students into the new religion, considered as the true philosophy. Indeed, in it he had found the truth, hence, the art of living virtuously.

For this reason he was reported and beheaded in about 165 during the reign of Marcus Aurelius, the philosopher-emperor to whom Justin had actually addressed one of his Apologia.

These – the two Apologies and the Dialogue with the Hebrew, Tryphon – are his only surviving works. In them, Justin intends above all to illustrate the divine project of creation and salvation, which is fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the Logos, that is, the eternal Word, eternal Reason, creative Reason.

Read more

IP#216 Russell Shaw – American Church on Inside the Pages

“Americanization ” is a very important concept to comprehend when trying to understand the state of the Roman Catholic Church in America. In “American Church: The Remarkable Rise, Meteoric Fall, and Uncertain Future of Catholicism in America” offers that many of the benefits of cultural assimilation exprienced by Catholic immigrants to the U.S., around the turn of the last century, were good. However, the secular culture has threatened the “Catholic identity” of millions of faithful and of their institutions, such as schools, universities, and hospitals.

Rich in in history, which points potentially to the future, Russell Shaw helps us to see the disturbing aspects of the Church in America today, while offering hopeful outcomes for the future. A very important book, indeed!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (26.0MB) | Embed

You can find the book here

“Russell Shaw is one of the best informed and most articulate observers of the American Catholic experience; a writer of elegant clarity, fairness and impeccable research. If you want to understand the Church in the United States and the challenges she now faces, American Church should be on the short list of books you need to read.”
+Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., Archbishop of Philadelphia

“The new bull-in-the-china-shop of U.S. Catholic history, Russell Shaw upends pedestals, reimagines story-lines, and invites all of us to think again about the roots of the severe challenges — and great opportunities — facing the Church in the United States in the first decades of the third millennium.” —-George Weigel, author of Evangelical Catholicism: Deep Reform in the 21st-Century Church

IP#160 Dr. Kevin Vost – Three Irish Saints on Inside the Pages

It was a delight to talk once again to Dr. Kevin Vost. In his new book Three Irish Saints: A Guide to Finding Your Spiritual Style, he brings forward of 3 incredible saints who can help us bring about a greater awareness of ourselves, as well as bringing us closer to our relationship with God. Dr. Vost is psychologist and physical fitness expert who examines the lives of these three great saints, reveals their gifts and virtues. He then explores the question: Are you a thinker, a doer, or a lover? Included is a a simple self-test to find out which spiritual master you are most like. I was well aware of St. Patrick, knew much about St. Brigid, but was knew nothing about St. Kevin, but the list really doesn’t stop there, Dr. Vost brings the lives of other Irish saints as well. A fun and fascinating read.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 27:12 — 43.6MB) | Embed

You can find the book here

Be sure to check out Dr. Vost’s other “Inside the Pages” discussion:

IP#33 Dr. Kevin Vost – From Atheism to Catholicism on Inside the Pages

IP#194 George Weigel – Evangelical Catholicism on Inside the Pages

At stunning moment in the recent history of the Catholic Church, the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI as Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church effective February 28, we had the opportunity to George Weigel before his departure for Rome to be, once again, a witness to history. In “Evangelical Catholicism: Deep Reform in the 21st-Century Church” he writes of this particular moment in the life of the Catholic Church. Our conversation centers on the Papacy and its future. I cannot encourage listeners more highly to pick up a copy of this book; it is extraordinarily compelling and filled with hopeful certainty concerning the future course of this great “barque of Peter”. Don’t miss!!!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 18:56 — 17.3MB) | Embed

You can find the book here

Timothy Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York
“This sparkling read puts all the old Church-labels—liberal vs. conservative, progressive vs. traditionalist, pre- vs. post-Vatican II—in the shredder. Now there is only one valid adjective for all of us: evangelical! Simply put, this means we take our baptismal promises with the utmost seriousness. Like the Samaritan woman, we’ve met a man—Jesus—who has changed our lives.”

Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., Archbishop of Philadelphia
“George Weigel has been the leading diarist of authentic Catholic renewal—its progress, detours, personalities, and hopes—for 30 years. In Evangelical Catholicism he turns his extraordinary skills to the needs of the Church in the coming decades, calling us back to the missionary vocation we received at baptism and offering us a road map to faithful, vigorous Church reform. Rich in its vision, engaging in style, on target in its counsel and invaluable for anyone trying to understand the Church and her challenges in the 21st Century, this book should not be missed.”

Mary Ann Glendon, author of The Forum and the Tower: How Scholars and Politicians have Imagined the World, from Plato to Eleanor Roosevelt
“This remarkable book offers nothing less than a map and compass for men and women determined to take up the challenge of living the Catholic faith in its fullness under 21st-century conditions. With its bold call for ‘deep reform’ in every single corner of the Church, Evangelical Catholicism is sure to provoke lively discussion. The book’s proposals for true renewal are presented with the clarity and verve that have made George Weigel a peerless advocate of the courage to be Catholic.”